In order to maintain healthy growth, plants must extract a variety of nutrients from the soil in which they grow. However, many soils are deficient in the necessary nutrients or the soils contain them only in forms which cannot be readily taken up by plants. To counteract these deficiencies, commercial fertilizing products containing select nutrients are commonly applied to soils in order to improve growth rates and yields obtained from crop plants. For example, potassium may be added to soil to counteract a lack of available potassium.
Fertilizers come in two basic forms, liquid and dry. Liquid fertilizers have gained commercial approval mainly due to the ease of handling and application. However, for a liquid fertilizer to become a commercially viable product, it must have a relatively high nutrient analysis. Ideally, it also should be able to blend with other liquid fertilizers to supply the required nutrients for a growing crop.
Potassium is normally required by a growing plant to stimulate early growth, to increase protein production, and to activate enzyme and hormone systems within the plant. These systems impact the plant's ability to withstand biotic and abiotic stress, and improves the plant's resistance to diseases and insects. Further, potassium increases water use efficiency and transforms sugars to starch.
The typical potassium sources for fertilizers are inorganic potassium salts, such as potassium chloride (potash), potassium magnesium sulfate, potassium nitrate, and potassium sulfate. However, the inorganic anions found in these salts can have damaging effects on the environment. Thus, it would be beneficial to have an environmentally-friendly potassium source for liquid fertilizer products.